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Thought balloon ellipses
Matthew Brady posted these panels from a Golgo 13 manga. He decided that the meaning of the ellipses in thought balloons means “this character is thinking very hard about the situation, but we’re not privy to his thoughts.” I wonder if it could be an obscuring tactic which foregrounds the idea that we don’t know what these guys are thinking, a kind of focalization technique which keeps us outside certain characters’ heads. Or it might showcase the idea that the men don’t know what to think, they are thinking nothing, or have settled on know primary thought. Any way, it’s an odd tactic, but one I’d like to find a use for.
July 20th, 2008
I think you’re right that the men are possibly thinking nothing, their mental faculties suspended in one of those wordless states (before an attitude or response is formed). The vertical arrangement of the ellipses and the inclusion of many dots makes them quite beautiful.
I agree with your conclusions, with the exception that I think we are very much being kept inside all of the characters’ heads. My instinctive interpretation of this sort of thought-bubble, reached without a great deal of consideration beyond the context of any given strip, has always been that it represents a break in the person’s train of thought, usually suggesting a sense of surprise at what they are experiencing (in this case, what the third guy is saying). They are at a loss for thoughts, as opposed to a loss for words. It often communicates a slightly tense, anxious state, supported visually by the “sweat marks” emanating from the central figure in the central panel.
[...] back at this post about a thought balloon with two vertical rows of ellipses in a manga. I found this quote: Some English-style punctuation, such as exclamation points and [...]